Fanatec CSR Elite Review: A League of its Own

  • Thread starter amar212
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I didn't mean to start a debate on wheel angle haha :lol:. I've never tried racing with the wheel mounted at 90 like in a formula car so I'll have to give it a try. If the only way it's going to bolt to a playseat is by using the brackets then I might not have a choice. I currently have a CSR and have been patiently waiting and saving my money to get the CSW detachable wheel, but according to Thomas on his blog he said best case would be Jan. and worst case would be Apr. before it would be out. I'm think now I might go ahead and get a CSR elite and sell the CSR I have now and when the CSW comes out sell the elite.
 
This whole cost issue with people griping about the rim quality is strange. there have been numorous posts about how the base of the clubsport and elite are basically the same, with different electronics and a quick release being the main differentiators. given that, the price of the elite is 500 including the wheel, and the clubsport is 550 and doesnt include a wheel. so if you need xbox support fanatic pays you 50 bucks to buy one with a wheel... Plus, i really like the wheel, i didnt think i was going to but all these people who complain about the quality probably havent even felt one in their hands. pictures dont do it justice. all i know is when i' m racing im not looking down at the wheel anyways, all i care about is that it feels like a proper race car wheel should when you hold it, firm and very solid. no buyers remorse here. flame on
 
Oh and alcontera rocks, thats why ferrari, porsche, lambo, and numerous other companies have switched from leather to wrap their sports car wheels in. embrace it, love it!
 
superbike81
The ClubSport base is $450 without a wheel, not $550.
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That's a little cheaper than I thought. I figured the csw base would be about the same as the elite.

I don't need the support for xbox as I mainly race on pc and on the ps3 every now and then. Never owned a xbox even. I'm really thinking that I'm going to put my CSR wheel and a dfgt I have for a back up for sale to get the elite while I wait on the CSW. I think it will be around mid to end Feb. before the CSW is out because Thomas said on his blog that the best case would be Jan. and the worse case Apr. I like the wheel on my CSR so the one on the elite won't bother me but I want the CSW for the detachable wheel like most everyone else. I regularly race a couple different cars like open wheel formula's, touring, sport, nascar & other oval, and rally so I want to be able to switch my wheels out for each of the different cars I race :).
 
lemansfanatic
Oh and alcontera rocks, thats why ferrari, porsche, lambo, and numerous other companies have switched from leather to wrap their sports car wheels in. embrace it, love it!
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Haha yeah I feel ya. I love alcantara myself. I owned a 2000 integra type r a few years back and it has black alcantara seats. That's one of my favorite things about the fanatec wheels. I did have a GT2, but I had 2 break on me in 3 months so I talked them into upgrading me to the csr after the 2nd one broke. I have a playseat evo and it's the black alcantara one :).
 
lemansfanatic
Oh and alcontera rocks, thats why ferrari, porsche, lambo, and numerous other companies have switched from leather to wrap their sports car wheels in. embrace it, love it!
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Just because it is used on them cars doesnt make it a better product. It just means thats what they have decided to use. Porsche also changed some metal accents to plastic. Does that make the plastic better than metal?
 
fatkrakr
Just because it is used on them cars doesnt make it a better product. It just means thats what they have decided to use. Porsche also changed some metal accents to plastic. Does that make the plastic better than metal?
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If porsche thought so then, well... Ya! :)
 
lemansfanatic
Oh okay, still pretty good wheel for $50
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You forgot a small details like Xbox compatibility and license costs.
It is really hard to make such a simple calculation but it is save to say that the wheel would be much more expensive if we use a rim in the quality of the ClubSport rims.
 
Fanatec...
You forgot a small details like Xbox compatibility and license costs.
It is really hard to make such a simple calculation but it is save to say that the wheel would be much more expensive if we use a rim in the quality of the ClubSport rims.
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I dont know how much it cost to produce the csre base and the clubsport base but i calculated the extra cost for the microsoft liscensing was offset to roughly equal the price of the clubsport without the quick release and extra buttons... That was my approximate guestimation
 
Ok so let's stay at this very smplified calculation. The price difference between the GT3 RS wheel and the GT2 wheel is about 70 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility.

The price difference between a CSR E (regular delivery) and the CSW base is 50 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility and the wheel rim.

So how much did we add to the price of the CSR E because of the wheel rim?

-20

The rim is basically for free and the price is still lower than it should be. The CSR E was calculated extremely tight as the console gamers are more price sensitive. It will be hard to beat that price performance anytime soon. The profit is probably too small to be attractive enough to lure one of our competitiors into this niche market.
 
Thanks for the info Thomas. Couple quick questions if you could. Can we buy the csre without current rim when it comes avaliable. Just buy the new rim and base without standard wheel? If possible a ball park figure on new rims price? I want to get one but I want some idea when I can upgrade the rim. Thanks again Thomas. You could always use the current rims for replacements, there may be some broken rim issues soon.
 
Fanatec...
Ok so let's stay at this very smplified calculation. The price difference between the GT3 RS wheel and the GT2 wheel is about 70 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility.

The price difference between a CSR E (regular delivery) and the CSW base is 50 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility and the wheel rim.

So how much did we add to the price of the CSR E because of the wheel rim?

-20

The rim is basically for free and the price is still lower than it should be. The CSR E was calculated extremely tight as the console gamers are more price sensitive. It will be hard to beat that price performance anytime soon. The profit is probably too small to be attractive enough to lure one of our competitiors into this niche market.
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The thing is there is no competitor in regards to a 360 wheel even for the GT2/CSR let alone the CSR Elite ;). Is there any plans for a different rim as standard for the CSR? How much for example would a rim like the one on the DFGT cost to make compared to the one already on the CSR and CSR Elite. I guess it would be cheaper, I really like the layout and that it will wear well and the usual shape of the wheel. A standard wheel like that with the Fanatec branding of the CSW wheel would make the current options more attractive to people who play GT but also want the Xbox compatibility.

Is there a cost for the Forza branding or do you get money for including the branding on the wheels?
 
So how much did we add to the price of the CSR E because of the wheel rim?

-20

The rim is basically for free and the price is still lower than it should be.
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Well, if this is true, it's an interesting piece of information. It would confirm that the wheel rim is sort of "sub-standard" compared to the wheel base, but if Fanatec has spent all the money on the wheel base & little on the wheel rim, spending more money later by adding an additional wheel rim (or rims) seems like a reasonable approach.
 
The wheel rim is an improved version of the CSR wheel rim which is certainly not a sub-standard wheel but considered to be one of the best wheels of all platforms by many reviews.

The problem with the CSR E wheel rim is more a psychological one. The base is clearly on a complete higher level while the price and the wheel rim is on a different level. This is irritating for many people but you get what you pay for and please keep in mind that the majority of CSR E owners is happy with the wheel rim. They will just not always post that in forums.
 
Thomas, I'm happy with the CSR E rim, apart from being similar with CSR rim it has a very nice rubber coat and great looking carbon center. It feels and drives great.

But if there was a GT style rim for it I would change it now.
 
I dont understand why are you guys complaining about the rim?

Before you bought the product you all saw what are you buying( Reviews were out ).

You all knew that CSR-E is not primary for hardcore racers, for them Fanatec will have CSW ( Xbox even doesnt have real racing simulations).

You got from what a read a great wheel, some issues will be solved in some time.

I think that easier solution is to sell CSR-E when CSW comes out.
 
Leemon
I dont understand why are you guys complaining about the rim?

Before you bought the product you all saw what are you buying( Reviews were out ).

You all knew that CSR-E is not primary for hardcore racers, for them Fanatec will have CSW ( Xbox even doesnt have real racing simulations).

You got from what a read a great wheel, some issues will be solved in some time.

I think that easier solution is to sell CSR-E when CSW comes out.
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The best would be to buy CSW as well :)
 
Fanatec...
The wheel rim is an improved version of the CSR wheel rim which is certainly not a sub-standard wheel but considered to be one of the best wheels of all platforms by many reviews.

The problem with the CSR E wheel rim is more a psychological one. The base is clearly on a complete higher level while the price and the wheel rim is on a different level. This is irritating for many people but you get what you pay for and please keep in mind that the majority of CSR E owners is happy with the wheel rim. They will just not always post that in forums.
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I am extremely happy with CSR elite, love everything about, from rim to FFB.
For me it's an amazing product for the price that I payed
 
Leemon
I dont understand why are you guys complaining about the rim?

Before you bought the product you all saw what are you buying( Reviews were out ).

You all knew that CSR-E is not primary for hardcore racers, for them Fanatec will have CSW ( Xbox even doesnt have real racing simulations).

You got from what a read a great wheel, some issues will be solved in some time.

I think that easier solution is to sell CSR-E when CSW comes out.
Click to expand...

We are not complaing (ok some people have but i dont think they actually own the wheel). many elite owners are content with the wheel and purchased an elite over the csw not expecting to be able to change it... Then thomas went and announced that we could eventually get more rims for it and suddenly we have this massive clammoring for more rims. its like a kid who has too many toys and doesnt appreciate any of them. me, i nevr had many toys as a kid so i love my new toy. But if they come out with a better wheel for it i wont complain either. i'm only planning on buying one more wheel for it though so i hope its formula!
 
The problem is, and Thomas himself said that the original wheel with the CSR-E doesn't really match the quality of the base. So you've got a low quality wheel wrapped in rubber and Alcantara on a very high quality wheel base. That is why people are complaining. They've got the same wheel I've got on my CSR just with a carbon center and rubber wrapping the plastic. To many people, that is not acceptable for a $600 (after shipping) wheel. Exactly why I'm waiting for the CSW, if they are charging $150+ for the rims alone, they will be much higher quality than the CSR-E wheel.

The way the CSR-E rim is now should have been how the CSR rim was to begin with (without the carbon fiber for cost savings). Can't be any more than a few dollars worth of rubber on the CSR-E. The rim is barely acceptable on a $250 wheel, much less a ~$600 wheel.
 
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Fanatec...
Ok so let's stay at this very smplified calculation. The price difference between the GT3 RS wheel and the GT2 wheel is about 70 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility.

The price difference between a CSR E (regular delivery) and the CSW base is 50 and the major difference is Xbox compatibility and the wheel rim.

So how much did we add to the price of the CSR E because of the wheel rim?

-20

The rim is basically for free and the price is still lower than it should be. The CSR E was calculated extremely tight as the console gamers are more price sensitive. It will be hard to beat that price performance anytime soon. The profit is probably too small to be attractive enough to lure one of our competitiors into this niche market.
Click to expand...

Im not going to argue this any more as we all know that the wheel was basically and add-on. we forked our money over for the base, not the wheel. the SAME base as the clubsport, which you can all argue that if you want but it really is, fanatec just threw a wheel on the clubsport for us and charged us -$20. SO ONCE AGAIN how can someone complain about the quality of the wheel when it was a free one?
 
But it's not the same base as the ClubSport. Thomas said it's getting new electronics to make it even better.

CSR-Elite: $540
ClubSport Base: $450

So you are paying $90 for the original CSR-E wheel, Xbox capability, and a less advanced wheel base.

But remember, if you are happy with it, that is what matters. But saying that the CSW and the CSR-E are "THE SAME" is not accurate.
 
Also how is saying its the same hardware false information? does it not have the same belts, motors, housing? saying its radically different is because instead of xbox functionality you pay for a quick release and more buttons? Come on... Same hardware, different electronics
 
Fanatec...
The wheel rim is an improved version of the CSR wheel rim which is certainly not a sub-standard wheel but considered to be one of the best wheels of all platforms by many reviews.

The problem with the CSR E wheel rim is more a psychological one. The base is clearly on a complete higher level while the price and the wheel rim is on a different level. This is irritating for many people but you get what you pay for and please keep in mind that the majority of CSR E owners is happy with the wheel rim. They will just not always post that in forums.
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The wheel rim on the CSR and CSRE is hugely let down by ergonomics in my opinion. The wheel rim could be even made at a cheaper cost but with a better design would make it many times better than the current rim.

This is ISR's review of the CSR wheel and as the rim ergonomics is the same for the CSR Elite, it applies to that wheel rim too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3okuWTux9M&t=4m32s

Michael Main's initial thoughts section also mentions this point: http://www.mainperformancepc.com/Articles.asp?ID=250

For me it is very important point to be able to use buttons while driving in racing games whether to look around the car or to be able to use something like DRS & Kers or clutch and handbrake buttons some games have. This is how I would rank them going by the designs for using buttons while driving in-game:

CSW Formula Rim
T500RS Ferrari F1 Wheel
CSW BMW M3 GT2 Wheel
DFGT
T500RS
Mad Catz / Microsoft FFB Wheel
G27
PWTS/GT2/GT3RS
CSR/CSRE
G25

The wheel rim is more of a problem for the CSR than the CSRE due to no option of being able to change it for a better one. If the standard wheel rim was better I would have definately invested in getting something like the CSR over the G27. At a higher price and worse button placement than most wheels is off putting to me and maybe others who are on the borderline. Something like the CSR, the thing that is going for it is the Xbox compatibility and fast wheel turn in speed with the CSRE having a top notch base and ability to change the wheel rim. Even if the current wheel was changed slightly to have buttons closer to the wheel rim, it will make it a better product and will get it closer to the potential name of the wheel being called "Competition Sim Racing". This is all in my opinion of course.
 

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